


I Just Sighed, Just So You Know

by trickster (novakid)



Series: Heart Swells [4]
Category: DCU, The Flash (Comics)
Genre: First Time, Fluff and Smut, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-14 11:48:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29170602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/novakid/pseuds/trickster
Summary: please, just let me be the one to keep track of the freckles and the moles on your back.
Relationships: James Jesse/Hartley Rathaway
Series: Heart Swells [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1955152
Comments: 4
Kudos: 3





	I Just Sighed, Just So You Know

james and hartley still have a long way to go before their road trip is over, but they plan to take their time.

especially after a tender confession that leaves both of them feeling silly and _stupid_ in love.

despite all the days being hardened in prison, hardships with the rogues, and the disaster that was their days chained together during the crisis, hartley is still a romantic at heart. and hell, james is too, even if he doesn't want to admit it. after everything, james coming back from the dead, spending these precious moments with hartley... and confessing all seemed too good to be true. it didn't seem real. hartley didn't want the night they kissed to ever end. they stayed in that morning after, holding and kissing each other. sleeping in each other's arms. even after they both woke up, hartley was afraid to let go.

afraid that it was a dream. afraid that james would disappear when he wakes up.

"i'm here, hartley." james says between kisses as he tries to convince hartley to let them shower and eat, "i'm here. i'm not going anywhere. we still got a lot more life to enjoy."

right. they have time. they have a lot of time together.

they decide they'd stay in california longer than they'd plan to relax in each other's company and bathe in their newfound love. the next day, they go to the beach. since the gem cities are landlocked, james is glad to be able to swim on an actual beach after years of not being able to. hartley, on the other hand, has never been.

"you've never been to a beach?"

"no."

"never?!"

"no! i mean, as a kid, my parents and i visited cities near the coasts. but i was never allowed to play at the beaches." plus, with all the trouble with his hearing aids, hartley never bothered to insist or sneak out.

james gasps so loud, he leaves himself feeling breathless. he spends the whole day teaching hartley all the beach day essentials including sand castles, seashell hunting, wading through the calm water (never going more than waist deep), and eating overpriced hot dogs. by the time the day is done and the sun is setting, hartley is exhausted.

back at the motel, wrapped in a sandy beach towel, hartley shuffles towards the bathroom. "i'm going to shower."

james pauses for a moment and looks over at him with a small grin. "can i join?"

hartley slows down and considers this, all while his pale skin turns a bright red. james, without a doubt, notices this and approaches hartley. he stops when he's directly behind him, bare chest against bare back. hartley shivers. "i suppose, if you want to."

"i'm asking if you want me to." hartley wishes he can wipe that smug look off of james' face...

but he can't complain too long; not with james' lips pressing insistently against hartley's neck. oh, boy, _he's in trouble._

"okay... but don't get any bright ideas. i'll need to take my hearing aids off."

james only grins and signs to his ~~friend~~ ... ** _boyfriend_** , _`you got it, boss.`_

they both undress from their swimming trunks and hartley places his filters on the bathroom counter before hopping into a warm shower. hartley sighs, because even though it's been a long time since the crisis, he's grateful to be able to take a warm shower when he wants. by the look on james' face, he feels the same way.

hartley would've been content with standing under the warm spray and watching sand wash down into the drain, but he startles when he feels james' soapy hands on his back. he quickly relaxes after feeling a chaste kiss on the back of one of his shoulders, and the firm massaging of soap onto his skin. (wow, his hands are so strong.)

he turns around to face james and loosely wraps his arms around his shoulders. he can't help but glance down and catch the sight of a ragged scar on james' chest... the shape of a bullet hole. hartley shivers, but thankfully james doesn't stop; his hands massage out old knots and run over all of hartley's soft spots- and it all makes him feel like he's melting. when james kisses him, he can feel the chill of the shower wall against his back.

james' confident hands, slick from soap, squeeze hartley's bottom and thighs. hartley keeps a firm grip on james as he kisses him relentlessly, and only stops when he feels that confidence fade away.

by now, hartley has... definitely been riled up enough that his erection continuously brushes against james' thigh. james is looking down directly at it, and it's making him feel self conscious. until he remembers that _james_ is probably the one that's feeling self conscious.

right. probably hasn't been with a guy before.

he can't help but smile as james tries to figure out how to approach this. hartley grabs both of james' hands and kisses him once more before he goes to turn off the shower. when james gives him a quizzical look, hartley answers, _`we'll continue out there.`_

they dry off and hartley replaces his filters. james is looking embarrassed for once, and hartley tries not to feel triumphant over the fact that this time _he's_ not the one out of his depth. instead he wraps his arms around james, who seems to have gotten bashful and is covering himself with a towel. "so."

"so."

hartley smiles and nuzzles his nose against the incline of james' neck. "you've never been with a man before."

james smiles back, still nervous but relaxing against his partner. "believe it or not, i haven't been with as many people as you might think. but- no. no men."

"and you want to..."

james cuts hartley off and drops his towel in favour of holding hartley closer. "and i want to be with you." he kisses hartley. and again. and again. hartley is so swept off his feet that he hardly notices when they move towards the bed and collapse on top of it. he holds him down as he showers him with kisses and trails them down his neck.

hartley bites his lip as he watches james eagerly kiss down his chest. it's nice to watch, but hartley thinks for a moment before tugging james back up. "hey, james."

"hey. hartley."

"we should... hmm."

"i already have uh, while we were getting food, i got condoms and-"

"that's not what i- what? you did?" hartley flushes deeply, and james just about matches his hue.

"come on, you know i like to be prepared." james falls onto his side, but keeps his arms around his partner.

hartley shakes his head and smiles. "you do. but what i was going to say, was that if you want to have sex with me, i could lead."

james considers this, and considers what he means. he immediately _gets_ hartley's meaning but seems hesitant. "i guess you do know more about... uh, sex with men than me."

"we don't have to. i could spend the rest of the night kissing you." hartley could spend the rest of the road trip kissing, but that goes without saying.

"i want to." he purses his lips, still thinking. "i want to take care of you."

"you've taken care of me. let me take care of you."

james is bright red again, and hartley can feel the heat coming off of his skin. "will it hurt?"

"no. it shouldn't. if it hurts, it means one of us is doing something wrong. it might feel weird at first, though."

james nods after a moment and nearly rolls off the bed looking for the duffel bag he dropped on the way in. he tosses hartley a bottle of lubricant and a pack of condoms."alright! lets try it!"

hartley blinks, genuinely shocked but excited none the less. "really?"

"really! i'll try anything once, and," james pauses to look at hartley with a cocked grin and hungry eyes, "i love you. a whole lot. and i wanna show you how much."

that sends a shiver down hartley's spine, and an ache in his dick.

james sits up to meet hartley in a heated kiss before pulling him back down on top of him. almost immediately, hartley ruts his cock against james' hip, still erect from the shower.

"oh. oh wow." james murmurs softly as he watches that, gnawing at his lip. "that's- okay."

hartley slows down and grabs the bottle of lube securely in his hand. "it's okay?"

"yeah. i mean, not _just okay_. i mean, it's hot. you're hot." james laughs loudly. that's when hartley realizes that james is nervous.

james of all people. nervous.

nervous and giddy.

"don't look at me like that. i know what you're thinking."

hartley laughs along with him and smiles as he squirts his fingers with lube. "i just think you're cute, is all."

"cute? not... obnoxiously sexy?"

"i mean... you're obnoxious, alright."

"hey!"

hartley laughs harder, which causes james to smile from ear to ear. he places one more kiss on james' lips before pressing him to lay back with his dry hand. "i'm going to put in a finger. relax, okay?"

james inhales a deep breath and nods, and lets his head tilt back. he can hear the wet sound of lube in hartley's fingers before it presses in- no doubt warming it up beforehand. it's a strange sensation when he does- definitely "weird", as hartley put it. it doesn't hurt, which he's thankful for. for a moment, james' attention starts wandering off until he feels hot breath on his cock. looking down, he watches hartley place wet lips over the head of his dick.

god help him.

his hips twitch, but hartley presses them down with his free hand while his finger pushes deeper into him. it feels like a lot going on at once, especially when hartley starts to kiss around his crotch... anywhere _but_ his dick. james groans, long and soft, and throws his head back when he feels hot and slick against his balls. james is trying hard not to babble on, and throws his arm around over his mouth. just in time for him to let out a muffled squeal when he feels like his whole body get shocked with lightning. he gasps and clenches around hartley's finger and looks up at him with wide eyes.

"you like that?"

"...oh, don't tell me."

hartley grins cheekily and wiggles his finger inside of him. "prostate." following that, he begins to add another finger. james' head spins and spins and he tries to cover his mouth again, but hartley is quick to grab his wrist and pin it beside his head. he leans down and steals a kiss, saying, "i like hearing your voice. and the noises you make."

well. james files that for later. the best he can, anyway, what with his brain turning to jelly and melting out of his ears. by the time james is well acquainted to all three fingers thrusting into his ass, he's grinding down into hartley's hand. hartley leans down to taste the hot flesh of james' neck and feel the vibrations of his moans through his throat. these kisses and love bites travel downward, across his collarbone and chest. (he thinks he feels hartley's lips brush against the scar on the center of his chest, which makes him feel heated just as much as it makes him feel vulnerable.) james can feel his pre-cum drip on his stomach, and he knows he's going to blow soon before hartley gets a chance to turn him into a kebab. "hartley! jesus, hartley, please-!"

hartley presses his fingers deep in james and keeps them there, and he squirms under him and lets out the lewdest noise that he didn't even _know_ he could make! "you want me in?"

his thoughts swim around in his head frantically as he tries to think of a coherent answer. he wasn't sure what he was expecting when he agreed to let hartley fuck him, but god, he didn't expect to be rendered nearly speechless. james nods frantically and reaches up to grab at him. arms around hartley's neck and tugging him close, desperate. "kebab me."

hartley stops. "what?"

"what?" oh. "did i say that out loud?"

hartley nearly doubles over and collapses on top of james, laughing. james wants to hit his head on the backboard. "fine. yes. i'll _kebab_ you."

james opts for hiding his face in the crook of hartley's neck while he listens to him unwrap a condom and slick himself up. it's not so scary, now that he knows how much he enjoys being penetrated. but when he feels the head of hartley's cock press against james' hole, he immediately starts to wonder if it'd even fit.

"you're okay. i've got you." hartley says, and it does a lot to calm james' nerves. he holds onto his partner tightly as he feels him easing in. hartley kisses him again and drags his hands over the flat muscle of james' chest. it feels nice. it feels so good. it feels amazing when hartley's pelvis meets james' bottom, and he feels surrounded on all sides. safe, because it's _hartley._

hartley seems to be relieved as he finally feels james tight around his cock. he attempts to control himself to let james get use to the feeling, but his partner only writhes impatiently and grabs onto his own cock and frantically jerks himself off. he begs- _please please fuck please_ \- and while he's not specific, hartley thinks he gets the picture, and who is he to deny him?

he gathers james in his arms and presses a wet kiss on the column of his throat as he fucks james into the mattress, who spills out delicious gasps and groans with each thrust. each and every one is music to hartley's ears. especially the noise is makes when he cums: james gasps, and sighs out, "hartley-!" and hartley's finished too.

...

they wake up before the sun comes up. james guesses that they've only been asleep for five hours.

hartley wakes up easily when james does- he brought his earplugs but didn't put them on before sleeping _for obvious reasons_. both of them are covered in sweat and jizz and their limbs are tangled in each other. hartley smiles and gazes sleepily at james. "hi."

james flushes and nods once in acknowledgement. "hi."

their faces are inches apart, and hartley leans forward until their foreheads are pressed against each other. "was that okay?"

"okay...? hartley, that was- that was pretty fucking amazing."

he laughs softly, turning bright pink before turning his head to the side to avoid james' gaze. "that's high praise."

"well. i love you, so, of course."

...wow. hartley's heard it a few times now and they've all given him the same feeling. overwhelming joy and love. **_love._** "good. because... i love you too."

"enough for you never to mention the kebab thing again?"

"haha! no. i'm never letting you live that down."

the two laugh and laugh, holding each other close. they opt to spend the day in again, deciding that there will be plenty of time to go out another day. they have all the time in the world.

**Author's Note:**

> [i just sighed. i just sighed, just so you know. by los campesinos!](https://youtu.be/ZkiFOck3Ioc) is the title song!  
> it's been years since i last wrote a smut fic. hope this was ok!


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